Pelosi, using cautious language around the word "crisis," labeled
the problem an "opportunity" for America to demonstrate its
values. Many of the children have
been kept
in shocking conditions as federal officials
scrambled to provide them basic necessities.

"This is a community with a border going through it. And this
crisis — that some call a 'crisis' — we have to
view as an opportunity," Pelosi told reporters at a press
conference.

Pelosi stressed the children involved are worthy of basic human
respect as they are being moved "as quickly as possible into another
setting."

"What we just saw was so
stunning. If you believe as we do that every child, that every
person, has a spark of divinity in them and is therefore worthy
of respect, what we saw in those rooms was [a] dazzling,
sparkling array of God's children, worthy of respect. So ... we
have to use the crisis — that some view as a crisis, and it does
have crisis qualities — as an opportunity to show who we are as
Americans, that we do respect people for their divinity and
worth," she said.